Storage unit



' Aug. 31, 1965 A. ULLMAN STORAGE UNIT Filed Aug. 21, 1965 INVENTOR. ,4444/v /u/m/v ATTORNEY I United States Patent 3,203,558 STORAGE UNIT Allan Ullman, New York, N.Y., assiguor to Book-Of-The- Month Club, Inc, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Aug. 21, 1963, Ser. him-303,591 3 Claims. (Cl. 211-126) This invention relates to a storage unit for books, cards, files and similar articles and is characterized by an adjustably slidable box or file which serves the dual purpose of a box or file and an adjustable bookend.

The invention is particularly adapted to the storage of cookbooks and recipe cards and will be described in connection with such application.

It is a general object of the invention to provide an improved storage unit affording ready availability of books, cards, files and similar articles.

A further object is to provide in such a unit means serving the dual function of storage and adjustable support for books.

A still further object is to provide such a unit which may be supported on a horizontal surface or hung from a vertical surface as desired.

Further objects, advantages and applications of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from a reading of the following specification and claims and a review of the accompanying drawings in which FIGURE 1 is a front perspective of a unit incorporating the invention, and

FIGURE 2 is a rear perspective of the unit of FIG- URE 1.

Referring to FIGURES l and 2 of the drawings showing one preferred embodiment of the invention, the storage unit comprises a bookshelf 1 having a horizontal ledge 10, a vertical back support 12, and oppositely disposed spaced side supports 14 and 16, together with a card box 18 dimensioned to rest on the ledge with its back against the back support of the shelf.

In the preferred embodiment shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, the bookshelf is formed of a bent wire frame having the sides 24), 22, 24, 26, 28 and 30 indicated, and by cross member bars 32, 34, 36, 38 and 4-0. A horizontal bar or guide rail 42 connects between the portions 22 and 30 of the frame to act as a guide for sliding the box 18 laterally on the shelf in cooperation with a spring tab 44 fixed to the back of the box 18 and adapted to snap over the guide rail 42. The spring tab 44 provides sufficient friction on the rail 42 to hold the box 13 in adjusted position against one side of books stored on the rack either to the right or to the left of the box 18.

The side supports 14 and 16 of the bookshelf are formed of one continuous loop of wire welded or otherwise fixed to the ends of the shelf frame, the upper portions 14- and 16, respectively, of each of the loops providing side supports for books and the lower portions 14 and 16", respectively, of the loops providing feet for the bookshelf.

Welded or otherwise secured to the portion 24 of the frame is a fiat strip of metal 46 having spaced apertures 38, '0, and 52 by which the unit may be secured to a wall by screws or other suitable means.

One or more adjustable dividers 54 are positioned in the box 13 to hold and space cards which may be accommodated therein. The divider 54 is provided with mounting means in the form of depending arms 54' which overlap the top side edges 18' of the box 18 and bear against the sides 18" thereof.

Operation and utility of the above described unit should ice be evident from the above description. Briefly stated, a plurality of cookbooks, for example, can be positioned upright on the shelf on either side of the box 18 and the box moved in the direction of the books to support the books upright between the box and one of the side supports of the shelf. In the box 18 can be stored recipe cards such that the box serves the dual purpose of a recipe file and adjustable bookend. The box also pro vides ready accessibility of the recipe cards without moving the box or if desired the box 18 is readily detachable to place on a table to review the cards therein.

The unit as a whole may be supported on a counter top or may be hung from the wall. Also by providing the apertures 43, 5t and 52 with variable cross section as indicated, the unit may be removably hung on screws and moved to a counter as a work unit when in use.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention by way of example, it is to be understood that various modifications and changes may be made Without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention, and it is intended that such changes and modifications be included in the appended claims. In particular, the shelf need not be made of wire as described but could be formed of plastic or other material and other guide and restraining means could be used to guide and adjustably position the box.

I claim:

1. A storage unit comprising bookshelf means formed of a loop of substantially rigid material of circular cross-section bent at right angles to form a supporting ledge and a back support normal thereto,

said ledge including spaced rod like members terminally supported thereon to form an article supporting surface,

spaced side supports formed of loops of substantially rigid material of circular cross-section fixed to the opposed end portions of said bookshelf means substantially normal to said ledge and back support with the lower portions thereof projecting below the surface of said ledge to support the same in spaced relation to an underlying support surface,

a card box sized to be slidably supported on said ledge between said spaced side supports,

and means for guiding said box laterally along said shelf,

said means providing a measure of friction to lateral movement of the box in order that the box may act as an adjustable bookend for supporting books in an upright position between said box and one of said side supports.

2. A multifunctional kitchen storage unit for cookbooks and related cooking adjuncts such as recipe cards and the like comprising a generally L-shaped bookshelf frame assembly formed of a normally horizontally positioned article supporting ledge of planar character and a normally vertically positioned back support integrally mounted in perpendicular relation thereto,

a pair of spaced side support members terminally secured to said frame assembly substantially normal to said ledge and back support and extending below the surface of said ledge to support the same in predetermined spaced relation with an underlying support surface,

an article containing box sized to contain recipe cards slidably supported on said ledge intermediate said spaced side supports,

and means frictionally connecting said box to said back support to selectively limit the direction of slidable displacement of said box laterally of said ledge and to frictionally resist said lateral box displacement to permit compressive retention of selectively desired numbers of books in an upright position between one side of said box and one of said side supports.

3. The kitchen storage unit as set forth in claim 2 including apertured mounting means included in said back support to permit selective mounting of said unit with said back support disposed in facing relation with a vertical support member and with said ledge disposed remote from any horizontal supporting surface in accord with the selective dictates of a user thereof.

References ited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Handte 248-224 X Swedman 211-90 X King 211l84 X Young 211126 Fox 2l1-184 X Levy 21ll26 Rudolfi 211-86 X Conley 211-43 CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner.

FRANK L. ABBOTT, Examiner. 

1. A STORAGE UNIT COMPRISING BOOKSHELF MEANS FORMED OF A LOOP OF SUBSTANTIALLY RIGID MATERIAL OF CIRCULAR CROSS-SECTION BENT AT RIGHT ANGLES TO FORM A SUPPORTING LEDGE AND A BACK SUPPORT NORMAL THERETO, SAID LEDGE INCLUDING SPACED ROD LIKE MEMBERS TERMINALLY SUPPORTED THEREON TO FORM AN ARTICLE SUPPORTING SURFACE, SPACED SIDE SUPPORTS FORMED OF LOOPS OF SUBSTANTIALLY RIGID MATERIAL OF CIRCULAR CROSS-SECTION FIXED TO THE OPPOSED END PORTIONS OF SAID BOOKSHELF MEANS SUBSTANTIALLY NORMAL TO SAID LEDGE AND BACK SUPPORT WITH THE LOWER PORTIONS THEREOF PROJECTING BELOW THE SURFACE OF SAID LEDGE TO SUPPORT THE SAME IN SPACE RELATION TO AN UNDERLYING SUPPORT SURFACE, A CARD BOX SIZED TO BE SLIDABLY SUPPORTED ON SAID LEDGE BETWEEN SAID SPACED SIDE SUPPORTS, AND MEANS FOR GUIDING SAID BOX LATERALLY ALONG SAID SHELF, SAID MEANS PROVIDING A MEASURE OF FRICTION TO LATERAL MOVEMENT OF THE BOX IN ORDER THAT THE BOX MAY ACT AS AN ADJUSTABLE BOOKEND FOR SUPPORTING BOOKS IN AN UPRIGHT POSITION BETWEEN SAID BOX AND ONE OF SAID SIDE SUPPORTS. 